I use 28" lines and like tyson in the above shot, sail with extended arms. I have no problem unhooking when necessary ... I am in my harness more with the longer lines than I ever was when they were 22 or 24 inches long.
Maybe you guys should try a pair for a week before you pronounce judgment on their benefits and drawbacks. Then you would know what you are talking about instead of just pontificating.

Pontificating? I just now went to my old parts bin and measured the off-the-shelf Accusport lines I used for years in the early and mid 80s.

37 inches.

I've used every length from that down to about 14", and often go up to 26 or 28 to see what I'm missing at 24". At 26" I have to spread the mounts wide enough to effectively shorten the distance from boom to hook ... but my arms are not nearly as bent as Bruce's in the B&J photo above. My elbow bend lies between Tyson's and Bruce's in those shots.

Getting unhooked quickly while planing isn't the issue for me; it's instantaneous and effortless ... at least before about 8 PM. What would cut into my TOW on any given day is sailing unhooked. Which is less tiring ... doing chin-ups or sitting in an easy chair with a remote/clicker in each hand? All Bruce has to do in his first picture to drastically change direction/sheeting angle is straighten one elbow and further bend the other; his roller bar, rather than every muscle from his quads to his erector spinae to his forearm flexors, would still be carrying the load.

Short of spinny tricks, a couple of seconds in each jibe, and advanced DTL wave sailing, much or most (virtually all, if desired) WSing can be done with hardware -- especially harness lines -- relieving our bodies of much of the effort. I deliberately worked on such techniques to alleviate forearm overuse symptoms decades years ago, but haven't figured out how to do that with two straight arms. The magazines reported that Nevin Sayre admitted his advice even just to race that way was wrong.

My whole point, as usual, is that IMO there are many valid ways to WS. Long obviously works for many people, but I haven't yet figured out how to do what I want to do hooked in with straight arms. I must be doing SOMETHING right for me, considering how many people compliment my sailing, express surprise that I do it hooked in, even request to record it for a documentary. Maybe, just maybe, I have some valid alternative ideas.

I was asked to chime in on this thread, but this is just an FYI explaining my own whacked style that has evolved from 30 years of racing. I don't suggest that it may work for you and your gear.

First pic in this thread, on a NX 5.4 cambered race sail from last Sunday. Boom height 54", harness lines adjustable from 17" ~ 23". Looks like about 21" lines in the photo.

Second pic, from the Gorge Cup races last summer, on a NX 7.1 cambered sail. Boom height 56", harness lines adjustable from 15" ~ 21". Can't see the harness line setting but it looks like full race juice so I'm guessing that the lines were most of the way out.

I wear a very low seat harness, but my boom is relatively low for my height and my stance is hips up towards to boom. Its a loaded setup that I have dialed in but most people would probably find it a little too close to the power.

When Mike is on the water I don`t even suit up. I just get out my camcorder to film this god of windsurfing and then go home and watch it over and over.

Jealous, I know ... but I'm not doing anything any other good recreational B&J sailor couldn't do if he wanted to. After all, I learned it very quickly at about the same time I learned to jibe. Benefits include healthier forearm tendons and extended sessions, days, and decades of sailing.

I totally agree, everyone has to find the right equipment and sailing style that suits them. That's the beautiful part about windsurfing, the ability to express oneself in many different ways on the water.

I personally love to tweek and try new stuff, tuning and fussing with gear is cool, and sometimes I find something that works better for me than what I had been using previously. And of course I like to share the info....

Interesting discussion with alot of variables to tweak and I think this is why each comes to his/her own line length.

I found that when in Maui, especially riding these new shorter boards, that mast pressure was key. You can't stand up so much on them like my older style boards I have here in the Gorge....unless you are turning on a wave face. When sailing along, I found them to be a little twitchy unless I was really on the harness. Then they settled down quite nicely. Tried the new JP and RRD.

I raised the boom all the way up, lowered my harness down a bit, and ended up with 26 in. lines, but I think I will end up with 28 in. lines, if I upgrade, and I think it is definitely time to do that. Need to ride a few more boards though.

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